







In English we use the present simple tense to talk about facts or things that are always true, as well as things in general. Present simple is also used to talk about a repeated action such as a habit, a hobby, a daily event, a scheduled event or something that often happens.
In English we use 'do' and 'does' as auxiliary verbs in negatives and questions and we often use the present simple with adverbs of frequency such as sometimes, always, often, never, usually, rarely, and hardly ever.
Notes for use of present simple :
In the third person, ‘s’ is added to the verb form. For example;
work --> works
run --> runs
live --> lives
For verbs that end in 'o', 'sh', 'ch', 's' and 'x', we add 'es' to the verb form. For example;
go --> goes
wish --> wishes
watch --> watches
kiss --> kisses
fax --> faxes
For verbs that end in a consonant + 'y', we change the 'y' to 'i' and add 'es'. For example;
try --> tries
study --> studies
The table below shows the different forms of present simple :
Example Verb : Work | I / You / We / They | He / She / It |
| Positive | ... work. | ... works. |
| Negative | ... don't work. | ... doesn't work. |
Questions | Do ... work? | Does ... work? |
| Short answers | Yes, ... do. / No, ... don't. | Yes, ... does. / No, ... doesn't. |
For the verb 'to be' we use 'am', 'is', 'are' in the present simple. No auxiliary verbs are used in negative sentences and questions.
Verb: Be | I | You / We / They | He / She / It |
| Positive | I'm ... | ... 're ... | ... 's ... |
| Negative | I'm not ... | ... aren't ... | ... isn't ... |
| Questions | Am I ... ? | Are ... ...? | Is ... ...? |
| Short answers | Yes, I am. / No, I'm not. | Yes, ... are. / No, ... aren't. | Yes, ... is. / No, ... isn't. |
Present Simple Example Sentences :
Positive Examples of Present Simple :
Negative Examples of Present Simple :
Question Examples of Present Simple :
| Present simple example sentences | |
|---|---|
| I really don't know, but I believe it's more than 100 years old. | |
| Let me check... when is best for you? | |
| I can't imagine myself being on a plane for that long! | |
| You know tomorrow is my last day. | |
| But one of them is £2.44 and the other one is £1.22. | |
| That's nice, I guess I like the house very much! | |
| Yes, he is one of them. | |
| Is that a crack in the bath? | |
| I don't think you really want me to stay here anymore! | |
| Look at the shelf, the price tag says £2.20 a kilo. | |
| Mike, 250 degrees is the highest! | |
| Thanks, yeah, as I said, Camden is in zone-2... | |
| That's very interesting! | |
| Well, I'm used to getting bad news today, what's that? | |
| These days I'm into 60's, 70's remixes. | |
| I'm really sorry about that! | |
| Erm... You look about 30? | |
| Yes, that's a good idea. | |
| Why? It looks pretty clean to me! | |
| But Tesco is bigger, it has more variety of products. | |